Center for Student and Professional Services

Licensing and Endorsement Programs

Kansas State University offers licensing/endorsement programs for Teaching, Specialist (School Counseling and Reading), and Leadership (Building and District). Below you will find information for completion requirements and application of these licenses, as well as substitute licenses, added endorsements, and license renewal.

Teaching Licenses

Initial Teaching License RequirementsThe two-year ”Initial License“ is the first license that is issued to beginning teachers. For an Initial Teaching License you must have a Bachelor’s degree, complete a teacher education program, have recent college credits, and pass the Praxis PLT and Subject/Content Assessment Tests.

Teacher Education programs available at K-State are:(Please click on arrows to see more information)

Early Childhood Unified, Birth-Kindergarten

If you complete the early Childhood Education program, you will be eligible to teach children from Birth through Kindergarten, including Special Education. To be licensed, you must complete the PRAXIS II and Early Childhood content tests. More information can be found on the Human Ecology website, or by contacting Dr. Mary Deluccie at deluccie@k-state.edu.

Middle Level 5-8

A Middle Level Endorsement allows you to teach Grades 5-8 in Social Studies (History Comprehensive), General Science, English, or Math. Secondary students in Math, Social Studies, and English will automatically get the middle level endorsement when they complete the 6-12 program. Others can add the endorsement in Kansas by passing the appropriate Praxis Middle Level test.

Secondary 6-12

If you complete the B.S. in Education – secondary education program, you will be licensed for grades 6-12 with an endorsement in your teaching field. Teaching Fields are available in Agriculture, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Earth Science, English, English/Journalism, Family and Consumer Sciences, Journalism, Math, Physics, Social Studies, and Speech/Theatre. To be licensed, you must pass the PRAXIS II Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) test as well as the subject/content assessment test in your teaching field. Additional endorsements that can be added at the secondary level are ESL and High Incidence and Low Incidence Special Education.

PreKindergarten-12 (PK-12)

If you complete an Education program in Art, Music, Modern Languages (Chinese/French/German/Japanese/Spanish) or Physical Education/Health, you will be licensed to teach in Pre-Kindergarten – Grade 12. To be licensed, you must pass the PRAXIS II Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT) test as well as the subject/content assessment test in your teaching field. You can work at an Early Childhood, Elementary or Secondary school, teaching in your subject area.

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT)

If you have a Bachelor’s degree in any area, you can complete a Master’s degree and an Elementary (K-6) Teacher Education program in one year through an online program. See Master of Arts in Teaching.

One Year Non-Renewable License

If you have completed a Teacher Education program, but have not passed the required tests, you can apply for this license.

This license is available for people who have all of the requirements for an Initial Teaching License, except the Praxis Tests. It allows a person to teach for one year while the testing requirements are completed.

To apply for this license, you complete the same Form 1 application as the Initial License. In question 30, mark the option One Year Non-Renewable.

As the title states, it is only good for one year (July 1 – June 30 of the year you apply), and it can not be renewed.

Specialist Licenses

School Counselor

Requirements:

The Master of Science in School Counseling is a 48-hour program and is one requirement for licensure as a school counselor. There are two options for licensure as a school counselor in the State of Kansas:

Traditional route - One option is for individuals who have a professional teaching license. This is for the teacher who has completed at least one year of teaching and successfully completed mentoring to move from the Initial License to a Professional Teaching license.

Parallel Pathway - The Parallel Pathway is for individuals who do not have a professional teaching license. The parallel pathway option requires additional field experiences and activities in schools over two semesters during the master’s degree program to enhance a candidate’s understanding of the school culture.

Applying for your License:

After completing the coursework, applicants for the initial license must also meet the following KSDE requirements:

Hold a currently valid Kansas professional teaching license or have successfully completed field experiences in schools over two semesters during the master’s program.

Complete the master’s degree with a cumulative grade point average of 3.25.

Complete the Praxis exam for Professional School Counselor (See http://www.ets.org/praxis/ks/requirements - Instructional Support Personnel). To have your score sent to Kansas State University, enter code #6334 when registering for the Praxis test.

Have recent teaching experience or coursework (i.e., at least one year of teaching or 8 credit hours within the last six years).

Provisional Licensure:An individual with a professional teaching license may be granted a provisional counseling license if a minimum of 50% of the counseling coursework is completed and the individual has a counseling position. Use Form 4 on the KSDE website to apply.

After completing the coursework and practicum, applicants for the license must also meet the following KSDE requirements:

Hold a currently valid Kansas professional teaching license.

Complete the master’s degree with a cumulative grade point average of 3.25.

Complete the Praxis exam for Reading Specialist (See http://www.ets.org/praxis/ks/requirements - Instructional Support Personnel). To have your score sent to Kansas State University, enter code #6334 when registering for the Praxis test.

Have recent teaching experience or coursework (i.e., at least one year of teaching or 8 credit hours within the last six years).

Leadership Licenses

Building Leadership

Requirements:The program at K-State is a Master of Science in Educational Leadership.

Applying for your License:

After completing the coursework and practicum, applicants for the license must also meet the following KSDE requirements:

Hold a currently valid Kansas professional teaching license or have successfully completed field experiences in schools over two semesters during the master’s program.

Complete the master’s degree with a cumulative grade point average of 3.25.

Complete the Praxis exam for Building Leadership (See http://www.ets.org/praxis/ks/requirements - Administrator/School Leader). To have your score sent to Kansas State University, enter code #6334 when registering for the Praxis test.

Have recent teaching experience or coursework (i.e., at least one year of teaching or 8 credit hours within the last six years).

Verify five years of experience in a state-accredited school while holding a standard teaching or school specialist license and having achieved the professional-level license.

District Leadership

Requirements:You must have completed a Building Leadership program to complete this endorsement.

Applying for your License:

After completing the coursework and practicum, applicants for the initial license must also meet the following KSDE requirements:

Hold a currently valid Kansas professional teaching license.

Complete the master’s degree with a cumulative grade point average of 3.25.

Complete the Praxis exam for District Leadership (See http://www.ets.org/praxis/ks/requirements - Administrator/School Leader). To have your score sent to Kansas State University, enter code #6334 when registering for the Praxis test.

Have recent teaching experience or coursework (i.e., at least one year of teaching or 8 credit hours within the last six years).

Verify five years of experience in a state-accredited school while holding a standard teaching or school specialist license and having achieved the professional-level license.

Substitute Licenses

Emergency Substitute License (E-Sub)

This license is available for people with 60 hours of college credit. A background check is required. The first E-Sub expires in June of the academic year. Subsequent E-Sub licenses expire in June after two years. If you plan to substitute at the end of the semester after you complete your Student Teaching, apply for the E-Sub now. If you currently have an E-Sub license, you do not need another background check for your Initial License. If your E-Sub license expires, you will need to do another background check to get your Initial License. This application goes directly to KSDE.

Standard Substitute License

This license is available for people who have a B.S. degree and have completed a teacher education program. Typically, the missing requirements are the PRAXIS II tests or recent college credit. A background check is required. This license expires after 5 years.

Endorsements

There are two ways to add endorsements to your Kansas teaching license:

1. Complete Classes for the Approved Program and Pass the Subject/Content Test

If you are interested in completing an approved program for the endorsement, not just passing the test, contact the licensing officer. Elementary teachers can add additional endorsements in ESL and Special Education. Doing the approved program is very important if you are planning to move to a state that requires more than a test for an endorsement. To add an Endorsement for an approved program, submit Form 1.

2. Pass the Subject/Content Test (Test Only)

You cannot add Elementary, Early Childhood, or Special Education with the “Test Only” rule. Teachers often teach more than one area, so they need endorsements in each area they teach. Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) no longer requires you to complete an approved program of study to add another endorsement to a current teaching license. You can add teaching endorsements (in all areas except Elementary, Early Childhood, and Special Education) by taking and passing the PRAXIS content test. After you pass the content test, send your scores to KSDE along with Form 22 to have the endorsement added to your license. This regulation is for Kansas only. Since this is a Kansas rule, it does not assure that you will be licensed in the area if you go to another state.

The Provisional License expires in two years. If you have completed 50% of the remaining coursework, you can apply for a second Provisional license, following the same directions as for the first. It cannot be renewed if all that is remaining is the content test. It is added to your Initial or Professional License. It will allow you to teach the subject while you complete the coursework. When you complete all of the coursework and the PRAXIS Subject/Content Assessment Test(s), you can apply to add the endorsement to your license using Form 1 for Additional Endorsements.

Waivers

A school district has an option to hire a person on a Waiver if they can not find a qualified candidate for the position. The Waiver requires that the teacher and the University put together a Plan of Study showing the needed coursework to complete the endorsement. The teacher must enroll in one course each semester while on the Waiver.

Renewing Licenses

Renewing Initial License

An Initial License is valid for two years. If you are teaching during that time and successfully completed a one-year mentoring program, you are able to upgrade from an Initial License to a Professional License. If you have not completed a Mentoring year, you can apply for a second Initial License. No additional requirements are needed if you apply within five years of your first Initial – you must complete KSDE Form 20. If it has been more than 5 years, or this is your second renewal of the Initial License, see the KSDE requirements.

Upgrading to a Professional License

Once you have completed your mentoring through your school district, you can apply for your Professional License with KSDE Form 21. It is completed by you and your administrator. You will then be issued a five year Professional License.

Renewing and Adding Endorsements at the Same Time

If you are renewing your license at the same time you are adding an endorsement, you can request a paper application for both processes and send them both in at the same time. Having both applications processed at the same time will only cost you one application fee. Contact Di Murphy at dim@k-state.edu for the paper applications.